Tigers senior Brandon Hayes, left, takes a handoff from Tyler Templeton during the 4x200 relay earlier this year at the Blossom Invite at Citizens Stadium. Hayes, Templeton, Behron Georgantas and Trenton Stringari will compete in the event at state this week. (Jeff Shane/Daily Record)

Zac McCoy is the defending state champion in the 400-meter race.

McCoy held the top time in the state for much of the year.

Depending on how you look at it though, the Tigers senior is not this year's favorite.

Valor Christian's Spencer Jamison ran a 48.74 two weeks ago, besting McCoy's time of 48.90. The two competitors are the only Class 4A runners to break into the 48s this season.

"Zac's the reining champ and he's No. 2," Tigers coach Jordan Gilge said. "I guess if you look at numbers he's not the favorite, but I think he is because he's going to be pretty determined to win."

Zac McCoy

Not being the favorite is something people might like, having the pressure on someone else instead of the target being on your own back. McCoy's not looking at it like that, though. He said he performs best when the pressure is squarely on his shoulders.

"I like to think that there's the same amount of pressure just so I can push myself to get back to the top, and still feel like I have that pressure," said McCoy, whose winning time at state last year was 48.90. "I always push myself a lot harder when I have more at risk.

"It's going to be a lot different from last year. A lot more competition, a lot faster than last year."

The 400-meter isn't the only event that McCoy has a shot at bringing gold back to Cañon City. He's ranked third in the 200-meter, sixth in the 100 and ninth in the 4x400 relay.

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Despite the ninth-place ranking entering the meet, Gilge is very confident that the 4x400 team can win gold. They haven't ran their A squad of McCoy, Trenton Stringari, Tyler Templeton and Brandon Hayes in about three weeks, and last week's team with two substitutes almost ran a state-qualifying time.

"That's going to cut 6-8 seconds off, which would put us as the best time in state," Gilge said. "... If we would've run our A squad at conference we would be either one or two right now -- I'm very confident in that."

Jordan Gilge

Other events the Tigers will compete in are Stringari in the 300-meter hurdles, the 4x200 team of Behron Georgantas, Hayes, Templeton and Stringari, Austin Brant in the discus, Aubrey Till in the 1,600 and 3,200 runs, and Christine Conley in the 400.

The meet will begin Thursday morning at Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood.

Two weeks ago, Till wasn't even in the conversation for qualifying for state in either event. She'd been struggling mentally to return to form after having back surgery in the fall. At last week's South-Central League meet, though, Till put her name in the top 18. Gilge thinks she might finish in the top five.

"She just keeps killing her times," Gilge said, "so I'm excited to see what she can do.

"I'm curious to see when she gets in that setting with the best 18 girls in state, how hard she can push it."